Arizona Man Who Allegedly Faked Death in 1987 Arrested in California

June 7, 2011 -- In 1987 Robert George Arcieri "died" during a fishing trip in Arizona. He was arrested last Wednesday in Palm Springs, Calif.

Arcieri, 72, led a criminal syndicate in the 1980s, according to investigators, and was accused of being behind the brutal beating of a 34-year-old Scottsdale woman in 1984. He was arrested in 1986 for the crime and vanished after being released from jail when the case was dismissed so it could be refiled with additional charges.

It was reported that Arcieri died falling off a dock while fishing at Lee's Ferry in Arizona in 1987, a claim police did not believe. Police searched the river extensively, never found a body and indicted Arcieri three months after his "death."

Under indictment and on the run, Arcieri allegedly assumed the identity of Frank Roman Reynolds.

"[He] got a job, started a new life, developed a relationship with a woman and actually retired from his work," Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson told ABC News.

In March authorities received a tip that Arcieri was alive and living in Palm Springs. Arcieri had retired to Palm Springs after working in the construction industry in the state of Washington.

Thompson said that with a case this old one of the major concerns is what happened to the original investigators. Fortunately for Phoenix police, two of the lead investigators now work in the attorney general's office and have agreed to return to the case.

Janet Reddick, the woman who was almost beaten to death more than 25 years ago, told investigators that she had lived in fear since the attack, believing the individual responsible would return and attack again. She was assaulted when she walked into her home during a burglary allegedly ordered by Arcieri, according to Thompson.

"I'm happy to be here and I'm surely happy that he's been arrested," said Reddick. "The police department told me that they weren't going to quit."

Arcieri is in custody at the Maricopa County jail and faces 17 felony charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, burglary, theft and armed robbery.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.